School Life

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Togher Boys’ National School is a Catholic Primary School under the patronage of the Catholic Archbishop of Cork and Ross. We welcome pupils of all nationalities, religions and cultures. The child is at the centre of everything we do, and we endeavour to provide a stimulating and happy learning environment for all children. 

Our Beliefs

  1. Educate all children so that they can flourish in all things
  2. We all learn and play together every day. 
  3. Every day we use our gifts and talents that God has given us
  4. We work in partnership with our school community
  5. We strive to be the best that we can be
  6. We see God in all things

We try to make the whole atmosphere of the school one of welcome and friendliness to parents and children and to this, the necessary sense of security will be developed so that the children will feel part of the surroundings. This atmosphere should help the children come to terms with their environment and provide the emotional stability for most learning to take place.

In Togher Boys’ School we try to develop a positive approach towards children. For example – good things are praised, and negative comments are kept to an absolute minimum. It is important that every child here should be aware of his special identity. The qualities of every child should be developed.

Teachers and Parents are partners in the children’s education, with co-operation and communication between home and school being vital ingredients in the educational process. We share the same aim – the well-being of the children in our care.

Advantages to Multi-grade Classes

  • Younger children learn a lot from older ones even without it being planned.
  • Older children get constant reinforcement of what they have learned in previous year(s).
  • Children become independent learners by the nature of the classroom needs.
  • Co-operative discipline evolves though necessity as children learn personal and group responsibility from early on.
  • Children’s social skills mature earlier in multi-grade classes.
  • The multi-grade classroom, by its very make up, is more receptive and suitable to the essential tenets of the ‘new curriculum’, ie child centred, activity based, discovery methods, group work, thematic approach, integrated curriculum etc.
  • The multi-grade classroom is a natural extension from the child’s experience at home 0 multiple ages, needs and abilities.
  • Children find their own level easier in a multi-grade class – less likely to feel different than in a single age, ‘single-ability’ class.
  • In a multi-grade class the teacher is likely to teach a child for two or more years. This, generally, allows the teacher to get to know the child well and have a greater impact on affecting what the child learns. The high turnover of teachers to children in a single grade class discriminates against the teacher ever getting to know a child beyond a superficial level. If one accepts the correlation between how much, the knowing of a child’s experience, needs and ability effects the quality of teaching/learning, then the multi-grade classroom has a distinct advantage in this area.